Confirmation must come officially at 4 p.m., with the announcement of the two teams by the captains. But according to Marca and other Spanish media, Iberian coach David Ferrer chose on Monday evening to trust future retiree Rafael Nadal to start the quarter-final against the Netherlands against Botic van de Zandschulp (world No. 80) , this Tuesday at 5 p.m.
In Malaga, the man with 22 Grand Slams, 38 years old, closes the book on an immense career and should therefore still offer at least a page of happiness to the world of tennis by playing a single, after five days of training deemed satisfactory . Nadal, who has not played an official match since his defeat against Novak Djokovic in the 2nd round of the Paris Olympic Games at the end of July, was therefore preferred to his compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut, who has nevertheless returned to good form in recent weeks. .
The Mallorcan’s last outing in the Davis Cup finals dates back to 2019 when he led his country to its sixth success in the competition (his fifth personal). Nadal, who has only lost once in thirty appearances (singles and doubles combined), has already met Van de Zandschulp twice for as many victories.
“Of course I thought about this possibility,” explained the Dutchman during the press conference to present the teams. But I try not to think about it too much because I think I would go crazy. Hopefully I can play against him, I really want to. He has always been my idol since childhood and I watched his matches on TV. It would be a real pleasure to be the last to measure up to him…”
Indeed, even in the event of Spanish qualification, no one knows if Nadal will still be able to perform solo by the end of the week. The Manacor bull believes in any case that he is sufficiently competitive because his priority remains the team’s result before the ego of a final lap. “I tried to work as hard as possible over the last month and a half,” he said on Monday. In the second so-called No. 1 singles, Carlos Alcaraz will face Tallon Griekspoor.
